Winterbourne Earls is a village in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England. The village is in the

Bourne Bourne may refer to: Places UK * Bourne, Lincolnshire, a town ** Bourne Abbey ** Bourne railway station * Bourne (electoral division), West Sussex * Bourne SSSI, Avon, a Site of Special Scientific Interest near Burrington, North Somerset * Bourne ...

valley on the A338 road, about northeast of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

. The village adjoins

Winterbourne Dauntsey Winterbourne Dauntsey is a village in Wiltshire, England, in the Bourne valley on the A338 road about northeast of Salisbury. The village adjoins Winterbourne Earls and Winterbourne Gunner. It is part of the civil parish of Winterbourne, for ...

. It is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Winterbourne, formed in 1934 by amalgamating the three ancient parishes of Winterbourne Earls, Winterbourne Dauntsey and

Winterbourne Gunner Winterbourne Gunner is a village in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Salisbury. The village is near the River Bourne, Wiltshire, River Bourne and the A338 road and is close to Winterbourne Dauntsey. It is part of the Civil parishes in Eng ...

History

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

in 1086 recorded a settlement with 28 households at ''Wintreburne'', on land held by

Edward of Salisbury Edward of Salisbury was a nobleman and courtier (''curialis''), probably part Anglo-Saxon, who served as High Sheriff of Wiltshire during the reigns of William I, William II and Henry I. The ''Chronicon Abbatiae Rameseiensis'' (1293) names him as ...

. The name "Earls" came from the

Earls of Salisbury Earl of Salisbury is a title that has been created several times in English and British history. It has a complex history, and is now a subsidiary title to the Marquess of Salisbury, marquessate of Salisbury. Background The title was first cre ...

who were lords of the manor in the thirteenth century. Since then, the manor has only changed hands twice: in 1551 it was leased to the Nicholas family by its owners, the Bishops of Salisbury, then in 1799 the Fort family took the lease and later bought the manor, retaining it until the mid-twentieth century.

Churches

A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1843 at Hurdcott, immediately to the south of Winterbourne Earls. The chapel closed in 1967 and the community is served by Bourne Valley Methodist Church at Winterbourne Dauntsey. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of St Michael and All Angels serves the village and Winterbourne Dauntsey. It was built next to the main road in 1867–8 by

T.H. Wyatt Thomas Henry Wyatt (9 May 1807 – 5 August 1880) was an Anglo-Irish architect. He had a prolific and distinguished career, being elected President of the Royal Institute of British Architects 1870–73 and being awarded its Royal Gold Medal for A ...

and replaced an older church, probably built in the 12th century; St Edward's at Winterbourne Dauntsey was closed at the same time. Fragments of both older churches were used in the new church, and there are two roundels of 13th-century glass. The font bowl, pulpit and some of the monuments are also of older dates. At some point before 1867, the benefices of Winterbourne Earls and Dauntsey had been united and made a

perpetual curacy Perpetual curate was a class of resident parish priest or incumbent curate within the United Church of England and Ireland (name of the combined Anglican churches of England and Ireland from 1800 to 1871). The term is found in common use mainly du ...

. Winterbourne Gunner was added to the union in 1924. A team ministry was created for the area in 1973, and in the same year the Dauntsey and Earls parishes were united. Today the church is part of the Bourne Valley Churches grouping, alongside five nearby village churches.

Facilities

Winterbourne Earls CofE Primary School serves the village and surrounding communities. The school was built in 1992 on a new site to replace a National School dating from 1872. There is a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

at Hurdcott (the Black Horse) and another at Winterbourne Dauntsey (the Winterbourne Arms).

Notable people

Henry Sherfield Henry Sherfield (1572 (baptised) – January 1634) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1629. He held strong Puritan views, and was taken through a celebrated court case as a result of his iconoclastic ...

(c.1572–1634, lawyer and Member of Parliament) lived in the village. Notable members of the Nicholas family include

Sir Edward Nicholas Sir Edward Nicholas (4 April 15931669) was an English officeholder and politician who served as Secretary of State to Charles I and Charles II. He also sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. He served as secretary ...

(1593–1669), MP and Secretary of State, and his younger brother

Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...

(1594–1661) who rose to become

Dean of St Paul's Cathedral The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlett, ...

and is buried at Winterbourne Earls.

References

External links

The Winterbournes
parish website {{authority control Villages in Wiltshire Former civil parishes in Wiltshire